Activity 4.4

Kirschner and van Merrienboer’s article analyses and dismisses three urban legends in teaching and education.  I personally concur with the authors on points made about students as “digital natives”, the ineffective diagnosis of learning styles, and the internet savvy self-educator. The author’s goal is to prove that “although widespread, widely believed, and even widely implemented as well-meaning educational techniques or innovations, they are not supported by scientific evidence.  (p. 178)

The term butterfly defect is new to me but I instantly connected with students fluttering across information on technology devices and quickly moving to the next piece of information. My students have displayed the butterfly defect while using the computer or iPad for reading or math support. I’ve observed my students clicking away, unaware of the valuable information presented, only to fail their assessments.

In addition, I agree with the authors that students don’t learn only one way, instead, a student can learn in multiple fashions. The article used the term “pigeon hole” to explain how students were being put into distinct groups instead of fitting into several different groups. In my experience, using one particular learning style to teach a student, would limit the student, the teacher and cause frustration as learning and teaching becomes tedious.

Thirdly, the authors explain that the influx of information on the internet has led to the “Googlification of education, a watered-down version of resource-based learning.” (p.176)  While it’s important for students to be self-motivated and inquisitive learners, students shouldn’t be permitted to teach themselves how to research, explore and find valuable information on the internet. I agree that many students “trust the first thing they see” on the internet and they are trusting in unreliable information. (p. 176) Student’s need supervision to browse the internet, yet alone, need guidance and education about how to properly use and sort through information on the web.